Clinks Light Lunch | Issue 657 | 23rd October 2020

Light Lunch

In this week's edition...

    CLINKS PUBLICATION: Annual report and financial statements

    We have published our Annual report and financial statements 2019-20. The report looks at Clinks’ work towards our strategic objectives over the period of 1st April 2019 to 31st March 2020. It sets out our activities, achievements and plans for future work, under each objective, and work we’ve completed towards the goals we set ourselves in our strategy to 2022 – Creating change together. We presented this report at our AGM on 22nd October. Read it here

    CLINKS BLOG: sentence inflation

    In this blog, Policy Officer Lauren Nickolls looks at the impact of sentence inflation and considers the implications of proposals in the government’s recent sentencing white paper that will mean more people are in prison for longer. The average prison sentence has increased by almost two years over the last decade and the number of people sentenced to over 10 years in prison has more than tripled. The government’s white paper however does the opposite of reversing this sentence inflation. With no evidence that longer prison sentences deter people from committing crime or effectively rehabilitate those that do, the priority for sentencing reform should be to prevent less people ending up in the dead end that is prison. Read more here

    CLINKS PUBLICATION: A bolder cost-benefit approach

    In this evidence review, Dr Mary Corcoran, Reader and Director of Postgraduate programmes in Criminology at Keele University, provides an in-depth look at the rationale and uses of cost benefit analysis. She examines the use of this analysis in a number of different contexts relevant to voluntary organisations working in the criminal justice system. She considers how to ensure that the work of voluntary organisations is not reduced to a simple consideration of value for money. This article forms part of a series from Clinks, created to develop a far-reaching and accessible evidence base covering the most common types of activity undertaken within the criminal justice system. Each article has been written by a leading academic with particular expertise on the topic in question. Read more here

    CLINKS BLOG: telemedicine in prisons

    In this guest blog, Chantal Edge examines the national rollout of video consultations (telemedicine) across secure settings as part of the pandemic response and how voluntary sector organisations might be able to utilise video consultations as part of their service provision. Chantal Edge is a Specialty Registrar in Public Health and a National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Clinical Doctoral Research Fellow, researching telemedicine. She has been assisting NHS England and NHS Improvement with the national rollout of telemedicine across secure settings as part of the pandemic response. If you think there might be a role for video consultations in your service, the first step is speak to your local prison healthcare team or health and justice commissioner. Read the blog for more information here

    CLINKS VACANCY: Development Officer – North West

    A secondment opportunity is available for a member of voluntary sector staff to join Clinks for four months to support the North West of England criminal justice voluntary sector as part of our Area Development Team [Full time | £32,670 | home based | fixed term until 30th January 2021 (with possibility of extension)]. The post holder will need to understand relevant structures, building and nurturing existing relationships with key partners and a range of stakeholders across sectors. They will engage with government strategies and explore their impact on the voluntary sector within the local criminal justice context, including justice devolution agendas to enable voluntary sector engagement and opportunities for influence. Find out more and express interest by 2nd November here

    NATIONAL CRIMINAL JUSTICE ARTS ALLIANCE NEWS: beyond survival: creativity in confinement

    We're delighted to invite you to join the National Criminal Justice Arts Alliance at our 2020 Anne Peaker lecture with keynote speaker Lemn Sissay, author, poet, and broadcaster [17th November 16:00-18:00 | online | free]. Lemn’s critically acclaimed 2019 autobiography, My Name Is Why, reflects on his childhood, self-expression and Britishness, and explores the institutional care system, race, family and the meaning of home. Lemn will join us to talk about the role creativity can play for people at risk of being institutionalised and how people use creativity to exercise agency and shape their own destiny. The event will also include performances, a Q&A and networking. Full programme details to follow. Book your place here

    CLINKS MEMBER’S NEWS: call to reinstate education in prisons

    Without immediate action to reinstate education in prisons, people will return to their communities “deskilled, disillusioned and discouraged”, says Prisoners’ Education Trust’s Head of Policy, Francesca Cooney in response to the publication of the Chief Inspector of Prisons Peter Clarke’s annual report, which details the conditions and treatment of prisoners in establishments in England and Wales. Inspectors found widespread poor performance in the area of purposeful activity, which “sits at the heart of whether a prison can offer a safe, decent and rehabilitative environment”. Prisoners’ Education Trust believe it is now essential that prisons do what they can to reduce restrictions safely and reinstate education for prisoners. Read more here

    CLINKS MEMBER’S NEWS: the so-called “hard to reach”

    The Centre for Public Impact (CPI) and Changing Lives have published a report Learning to listen again: How people experiencing complex challenges feel about engagement and participation through the Covid-19 pandemic. The report recounts the early findings from conversations with people across Northern England experiencing the most challenging of circumstances, about issues such as future collaboration over Covid-19 measures and the future of policy – and how to make it more inclusive. By not prescribing a questionnaire or a method of listening (e.g. a focus group or online platform) Changing Lives and CPI learned that insights about how people feel at this time came more naturally through bespoke listening and via a small but highly trusted circle of intermediaries. Read more here

    CLINKS MEMBER’S NEWS: the pandemic’s effect on wellbeing

    ‘A Year in Our Lives’, a project from The Centre for Mental Health, is sharing the first-hand experiences of people living through the pandemic. The project wants to find creative, truthful and open ways to tell the story of 2020 in people’s own words. Whether you have had a mental health difficulty before or not, whatever age you are, wherever you are from, let them know how coronavirus and the sudden changes to our lives have affected your mental health. Use this question as a starting point: How has your emotional and mental health been affected by the coronavirus pandemic? Take part here

    CLINKS MEMBER’S NEWS: mental health information for people in prison

    Mind wants to explore the information needs of people who are in prison so that they can understand how best to meet these needs. Mind's Information Team provides mental health and wellbeing information for adults and young people (aged 11-18). If you have experience of working with people in prison, Mind would like to hear your views to find out what, if any, mental health information you think would be helpful for the people you work with. Please share your thoughts using this survey, by 5pm on Thursday 5th November here

    CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM: prison visits

    In response to the Covid-19 ‘firebreak’ in Wales, visits to Welsh prisons will be suspended from 6:00pm on Friday 23rd October and visitors who reside in Wales cannot travel to other prisons in England during this period. There may be exceptions for visits to young adults (HMP Parc), or on compassionate grounds which should be agreed in advance with the establishment prior to travel. In England, some restrictions to face-to-face social visits may be necessary where, for instance, prisons are located in ‘very high’ Covid-19 alert level areas. HM Prison and Probation Service encourages visitors to always check with the prison before booking a visit here

    FUNDING: £20 million for charitable organisations

    The Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) Resilience Fund is open for charitable organisations in England that support the people hardest hit by Covid-19. Through hundreds of grants, this fund will support those working with vulnerable and disadvantaged groups such as those living in deprived areas, those supporting black, Asian and minority ethnic communities and people with disabilities. Organisations in the UK can apply for a grant between £10,000 and £100,000 (up to a maximum of 20% of their last reported income) to support the continuation of services in the current health emergency or Covid-19 emergency response activities. CAF will be prioritising assessments and decision-making over the next two months and will aim for most grantees to be notified by the end of December. Find out more and apply here

    FUNDING: resilience and recovery loans

    The deadline for applications for the Social Investment Business Resilience and Recovery Loan Fund has been extended until 13th November. RRLF is intended for social enterprises and charities with a minimum turnover of £400k where the organisation has been disrupted due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Funding packages from £100k to £1.5m are available, with £13m of funding still to be allocated. Interest and fees for the loan are paid by the government for the first year. Assessed on a case by case basis, grants may be awarded alongside the loan, ranging in size from £40k to £300k and can be 20% to 40% of the loan amount. Find out more and apply here

    CLINKS MEMBER’S EVENT: minority ethnic prisoners

    HM Inspectorate of Prisons (HMI Prisons) is holding a launch event for its thematic report, Minority ethnic prisoners’ experiences of rehabilitation & release planning [28th October, online, free]. The report details the findings of HMI Prisons’ thematic work to better understand black and minority ethnic (BME) prisoners’ and Gypsy, Roma and Traveller (GRT) prisoners’ experiences of rehabilitation and release planning. The report discusses BME and GRT prisoners’ experiences of rehabilitative culture and their relationships with staff working in roles intended to support rehabilitation and release planning. Read more and register your attendance here

    CLINKS MEMBER’S EVENT: virtual restorative justice

    Why me? is hosting a seminar on virtual restorative justice [25th November, online, £75]. The Why me? team has developed good practice guidance for how to manage restorative justice processes online. The seminar will address several questions, including: what are the advantages and disadvantages of different video platforms?; how do you manage emotional situations remotely?; how do you encourage the participants to speak directly to each other?; how do you manage "informal time" at the end of the conference? See more and book online here

    OPPORTUNITY: research on homelessness and criminal justice

    A small research team from the University of Lincoln is investigating the impact of Covid-19 on services which support people who are in contact with the criminal justice system with housing and homelessness. They would like to hear from you if you are a supported accommodation provider, a local authority housing team or if you offer support and advocacy to people in the criminal justice system which includes housing related needs. Participate here

    CLINKS MEMBERS’ VACANCIES

    Development Manager with Synergy Theatre [London], Operations Manager with Hestia Housing & Support [London], Assistant Curriculum Manager with Weston College [HMP Guys Marsh, Dorset], Lead Night Worker with Nacro [Lincolnshire], Support Worker with EDP Drug & Alcohol Service [HMP Exeter], Assistant Support Worker with Changing Lives [Newcastle-upon-Tyne], Lived Experience Lead with HMPPS [National] and Beth Centre Coordinator with Women in Prison [London]. For more information about these vacancies, and many more, click here

    TIPS OF THE WEEK

    • Tip I: Beer52 Christmas craft hamper. £12.99. Details
    • Tip II: 5-star stay near Covent Garden. £169. Details
    • Tip III: Digital contactless thermometer. £18.99. Details

    EXTRA INFORMATION

    About Clinks Light Lunch

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